Boks looking for Lions warm up

The British

& Irish Lions

Tour to New Zealand 2017

Boks looking for Lions warm up

Springbok head coach Peter de Villiers has admitted that his side need to arrange warm-up matches prior to the first Test against the Lions on June 20.

De Villiers is keen for the world champions to be tested prior to the three-match series with Ian McGeechan's men and the New Zealand Maori have been mooted as possible opposition.

The Boks last played together on their unbeaten tour of the UK back in November and de Villiers has no intentions of taking on the Lions without further match practice.

A fixture against 2007 World Cup qualifiers Namibia is already in the pipeline and de Villiers will be looking to add to the Boks' schedule over the coming months.

"We are playing Namibia on May 29," De Villiers told South Africa newspaper Rapport.

"The game in Soweto (against the Maori) is, however, subject to certain conditions and has not been finalised, but I hope it will happen.

"It will help me a great deal for my preparation. We can't take on the Lions without warm-up games."

South African Rugby have confirmed that an approach has been made by the New Zealand Rugby Union for the NZ Maori to visit South Africa but the governing body have admitted that the potential fixture is only in the initial stages of planning.

"We can confirm that the New Zealand Rugby Union has inquired if there was an opportunity for the Maori team to appear in South Africa," said an SA Rugby statement.

"SA Rugby is examining the possibility but no decision has been taken on whether the offer will be accepted and there are several obstacles to overcome should we wish to pursue the offer.

"They include the financial viability of the project, logistics around venues and player availability and the fundamental stumbling block of a long-established President's Council resolution forbidding the appearance of SARU teams against opponents selected along racial lines.

"A final decision is not expected until the end of March."

The idea of the Maoris traveling to South Africa has also been confirmed by SA Rugby's counterparts in New Zealand, with NZRU general manager Neil Sorensen telling The Pres newspaper that he was hopeful the fixture would go ahead, possibly sometime in June.

"One idea we have been talking to the South Africans about is to see if they (the Maori) could play the Springboks and there was some speculation of it being played in Soweto," said Sorenson.

"I'm in discussions with Andy Marinos, who is the acting managing director of SARU, and we are trying to make it happen.

"It's still very early and we have hope to have something firmed up by the end of the month."